The present invention relates to a recording/reproduction technique for recording data on a recording medium or reproducing data from a recording medium, and more particularly to a technique which makes a display depending on the type of recording medium selected by a user for recording or reproduction
Currently, there are recording/reproduction devices in which various types of recording media such as optical disks, including DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc-Random Access Memory) and DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable), card type recording media based on semiconductor memories, hard disks and tape can be loaded at a time and data such as moving or still images is recorded or reproduced. These recording/reproduction devices use different types of recording media to make the different features of the different types of recording media complement each other.
One example is a camcorder or video camera which uses two types of recording media (card type recording medium and tape). A card type recording medium is compact and lightweight. When it is inserted directly into a PC, data on it can be loaded into the PC. Thus, the data can be used easily with the PC. However, since its recording capacity is small, it is suitable only for recording still images whose data volumes are usually smaller than those of moving images. Although it can record moving images, it is impossible to record moving images for a long time.
On the other hand, tape cannot be directly inserted into a PC and thus makes it more difficult to use the data recorded thereon with the PC than a card type recording medium. However, its recording capacity is large and thus suitable for many hours of videotaping.
In other words, in the abovementioned type of camcorder, tape is used as a recording medium to record moving images for many hours and a card type recording medium is used to load captured images as data into the PC. In this way, the features of the different types of recording media complement each other. Therefore, a camcorder which uses more than one type of recording medium is more convenient than one which uses only one type of recording medium.
Generally, recording/reproduction devices which use more than one type of recording medium have a switch to select a recording medium which the user is going to use for recording/reproduction of data. Usually, data can be recorded on, or reproduced from, only the recording medium selected by means of the switch; in order to use a recording medium not selected, the user has to select the recording medium using the switch.
JP-A No. 216347/2002 discloses a conventional technique concerning a recording/reproduction device which uses plural types of recording media and shows an icon on its display to inform the user of the type of recording medium currently selected.
JP-A Hei 9-44984 discloses a conventional technique concerning a recording/reproduction device which uses plural types of recording media and shows letters which have a color corresponding to the type of recording medium currently selected on its display to inform the user of the type of recording medium currently selected.
In a recording/reproduction device with a function which permits data to be recorded on, or reproduced from, more than one type of recording medium, the available recording/reproduction function considerably differs depending on the type of recording medium selected by the user, so it is very important to notify the user of which recording medium is currently selected.
However, the abovementioned conventional technique has the following drawback: an icon and/or plural letters, which appears somewhere on the monitor screen, is used to identify the type of recording medium, which means that in the case of a camcorder which usually has a small monitor screen of at most 3.5 inch as a display means, the user has to look for the icon, which has a size of at most 36×24 dots, and/or plural letters, which have a size of at most 18×12 dots, on the small screen of at most 3.5 inch and determine the type of recording medium from the shape of the icon. The visibility of the icon is low and it is difficult to identify the type of recording medium selected by the user quickly.